Wernher von Braun

Wernher von Braun (23 March 1912-16 June 1977) was a German-American aerospace engineer who invented the V-2 rocket for Nazi Germany and the Saturn V spacecraft for the United States. Von Braun is considered to be the father of rocket technology and space science in the USA, having been recruited during Operation Paperclip.

Biography
Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz, Prussia, Germany (now Wyrzysk, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland) on 23 March 1912. He attended the Technical University of Berlin, where he took up an interest in rocket science. Von Braun was appointed director of the rocket research station at the Peenemunde test site during World War II, and he developed the first automatically steered long-distance rocket, the V-2. In 1943, the improvement of his rockets received the full support of Adolf Hitler, who hoped that this "miracle weapon" would swing the balance of the war in Nazi Germany's favor. From 8 September 1944 to 27 March 1945, more than 1,000 explosive V-2 rockets were launched against England, but their real impact upon the British war effort was negligible. After the war, he became a United States citizen, and he served as director of the US Ballistic Missile Agency, playing a leading role in the development of the rocket carriers which were used in the US Saturn and Apollo missions. Von Braun died in Alexandria, Virginia in 1977 at the age of 65.